Obama Backs ‘Gang of Six’ Debt Plan

Posted on Jul 19, 2011

President Obama announced his support Tuesday for a deficit-reduction plan drafted by a bipartisan Senate group known as the “Gang of Six.” The lawmakers’ proposal promises to reduce the deficit by $3.7 trillion.

The plan, once thought to be too ambitious and too vague to consider seriously, proposes cutting spending, overhauling entitlement programs such as Medicare, revising the tax code and revisiting Social Security.

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the lead authors of the plan, said they were surprised by the level of support they received from members of both parties. And with the debt-ceiling deadline looming just two weeks out, the plan may be Washington’s best opportunity for compromise. —BF

The Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Obama said the proposal, which was designed by a group of lawmakers known as the “Gang of Six,” represents a balanced approach to cutting the deficit that he has pushed for all along.

The proposal would cut spending, overhaul entitlement programs such as Medicare, rework the tax code, and make significant changes to Social Security. He said he still hadn’t read all the details of the plan, and said it will be difficult for all parties to reach agreement.

The plan is sweeping in its scope but was thought for months to be both overly ambitious and slightly ambiguous, which nearly led the effort to collapse in recent weeks. But the plan was revived, in part by its lead authors—Sens. Mark Warner (D., Va.) and Saxby Chambliss (R., Ga.)—and the flood of bipartisan support coming out of the meeting surprised them both, the lawmakers said.